JP7192923B2 - Apparatus, method, program, system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to devices, methods, programs, and systems .

Providing information using networks has become one of the main marketing methods, and many photographs and videos have been posted on Web pages. A viewer who has browsed the web page can grasp the scenery of the place where the image was taken and the surrounding situation by browsing the photos and videos posted in consideration of the theme and description of the web page. For example, if the theme of the web page is tourism, the viewer will think that the photos and videos posted on the web page are of a tourist spot, and will grasp the scenery and surroundings of the tourist spot.

However, a general camera has a limited imaging range, and the viewer can grasp the scenery and the surrounding situation only within the range in which the photograph or moving image is captured. On the other hand, if the surroundings are captured by a camera with a wide angle of view, such as a fish-eye camera, the viewer can grasp a wider range of scenery and surrounding conditions just by viewing a single image. (See Patent Document 1, for example). Patent Document 1 discloses a panoramic image forming method for converting an image captured using a fish-eye optical device into a panoramic image, and for displaying a part of the panoramic image and the imaging position as dots on a map. It is

However, the panorama image forming method disclosed in Patent Document 1 employs a single fisheye lens, so there is a problem that the imaging range is still limited in many areas. In addition, there is a problem that no consideration is given to how to provide the captured photos and moving images to the viewer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of easily providing photographs and moving images with a wide imaging range.

In view of the above problems, the present invention has a storage unit that stores a panoramic image and a view including the shooting position when the panoramic image was shot, and based on a request, the corresponding panoramic image is retrieved from the storage unit. A partial image, which is a part of the image, and a diagram including the photographing position of the corresponding panoramic image are read, and in the read diagram, a figure indicating the photographing position of the corresponding panoramic image is displayed. are displayed in the read-out drawing, and a figure corresponding to the display range of the partial image when the read-out partial image is displayed is displayed in the read-out drawing ; When the panorama image of the above includes a plurality of figures indicating the photographing positions when the panorama image of the It is characterized in that it is displayed on the read partial image .

It is possible to provide a technology that can easily provide photographs and moving images with a wide imaging range.

It is an example of the figure explaining the operation|movement which a photographer performs. FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram for explaining a content setting method for a web page by a content user company; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of content browsed by an end user who has accessed a web page of a content user company; 1 is an example of a system configuration diagram of a web service system; FIG. It is an example of the figure explaining the external appearance of an imaging device. It is an example of the hardware block diagram of an imaging device. 1 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of a mobile terminal; FIG. 1 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of a content creation server; FIG. It is an example of the figure which shows the imaging range of an imaging device typically. It is an example of the figure explaining the image which an imaging device images. 1 is an example of a functional block diagram of a web service system; FIG. FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram illustrating embedding of a URI in a web page; FIG. 10 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating transmission of a partial image by a content providing unit; FIG. 4 is an example of a diagram schematically explaining embedding of an omnidirectional image in a map; FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for an imaging device to transmit an image to a mobile terminal; FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for a mobile terminal to transmit an image to a content creation server; FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for registering content and web pages; FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for a user PC to display content; It is an example of a functional block diagram of a content creation server (Example 2). FIG. 10 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for a content creation server to create content; It is an example of the figure explaining the image processing for privacy protection. It is an example of a functional block diagram of a content creation server (Example 3). It is an example of the figure explaining the identification method of the position of a building on a map. FIG. 10 is an example of a flowchart showing a procedure for embedding subject information in an omnidirectional image by a subject information embedding unit; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of subject information displayed when an end user clicks a building with a mouse cursor; It is a figure which shows an example of the content displayed on a user PC.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, it demonstrates, referring drawings for the form for implementing this invention.

<Outline of the Web service of this embodiment>
First, the outline of the Web service of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.
FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram illustrating an operation performed by a photographer.
(1) The photographer 8 walks while holding the imaging device 11 capable of imaging 360 degrees around (hereinafter referred to as omnidirectional). The imaging device 11 is set to capture an image of the surroundings periodically or at fixed distance intervals, and accumulates captured images (spherical images, which will be described later) in association with imaging positions. Therefore, an image is obtained along the route walked by the photographer 8 .
(2) When the photographer 8 walks to the target location and finishes capturing images on the route, the photographer 8 transmits a plurality of images to the content creation server 12 via the access point 9 .
(3) The content creation server 12 creates content using a map including the route traveled by the photographer 8 and an image, and registers the content in the content providing server 13 . It should be noted that in an embodiment described later, the portable terminal that has received the image from the imaging device 11 transmits the image to the content providing server 13 .

FIG. 2 is an example of a diagram illustrating a method of setting content for a web page by a content user company.
(4) The content creation server 12 creates and registers content, which will be described later, and transmits the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) of the content to the pre-registered person in charge 7 of the content user company. Note that the image may be transmitted to the imager 8 who is the transmission source of the image, as indicated by the dotted line in (4).
(5) The person in charge 7 of the content-using company operates the PC (Personal Computer) 15 of the content-using company and pastes the URI of the content into the HTML data of the company's web page (for example, home page) (for example, by copying and pasting ). As a result, the content user company can link the surrounding images captured along the route taken by the photographer 8 to their own web page.
(6) The person in charge 7 of the content-using company registers (transmits) a web page to the web server 14 of the company. As a result, the end user 6 can view the web page of the content user company linked to the content.
(7) The end user 6 browsing the Web page of the content user company operates the user PC 16 to display the content.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of content browsed by the end user 6 who has accessed the web page of the content user company. As content, a surrounding image 61 and a map 62 are mainly displayed. An image 61 is an omnidirectional image (omnidirectional image) at each imaging position on the route that the photographer 8 walked for imaging. Note that the omnidirectional image may also be called an omnidirectional panorama image, an omnidirectional image, a surrounding 360-degree image, or the like. Since the range of the image displayed at one time is a part of the omnidirectional image, the end user 6 can operate the user PC 16 to browse the omnidirectional image. In addition, a route 63 along which the photographer 8 has walked is highlighted on the map 62 . Since the imaging position 64 is specified in the route 63, the end user 6 can grasp the image of which imaging position 64 is viewed.

Therefore, the end user 6 can have a simulated experience as if he were actually walking the route 63 described above. Further, the route 63 is highlighted on the map 62 so that the end user 6 can grasp at a glance the imaging position 64 of the currently displayed image 61 and the imaging position 64 of the image to be displayed from now on. . Also, the end user 6 can display an image of any position on the route.

As described above, the Web service system 100 of the present embodiment enables anyone to easily create and publish realistic content that expresses the space in all directions. It is possible to provide the end user 6 with a simulated experience of traveling around the route by reproducing an omnidirectional panorama image.

<Terms>
・A content-using company is a corporation, natural person, group, or individual who wants to introduce a route using content. It doesn't have to be a for-profit company.
- The Web service system 100 provides a content user company with a service that supports creation and publication of content.
・ Routes (an example of routes or route information) include sightseeing courses in tourist spots, walking courses for mountain climbing and hiking, running courses for marathons, courses that provide directions from stations to destinations such as apartments, and routes within theme parks. There are courses that introduce how to get to attractions and facilities, courses that introduce shops in shopping malls and department stores, and so on. However, any place where people can walk can be the route of the present embodiment.
- The end user 6 is a viewer who browses content via a web page (and web application) operated by a content user company.
- The content has at least a plurality of omnidirectional images, which may include the map 62 and the route 63 . In addition, the audio data collected at the imaging position may also be included.
- The link information is information for acquiring content from a resource connected to a network by an arbitrary information processing terminal such as the user PC 16 . In this embodiment, URI is used as an example of link information. A URI is information for identifying a resource on a network, and information for specifying the location of a resource on the network is called a URL. A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) may be used instead of the URI.
- Public information is information that is open to the public on the network and accessible by the user PC 16 or the like. In the present embodiment, it will be described as a web page. A web page is a document published on the Internet. The web page may be prepared in advance or dynamically generated by a web application. A URI may be embedded in a web page.

<Configuration example>
FIG. 4 shows an example of a system configuration diagram of the web service system 100. As shown in FIG. The web service system 100 includes a content creation server 12, a content providing server 13, a web server 14, an imaging device 11, a mobile terminal 17, a content user PC 15, and a user PC 16, which are communicable via a network 18. there is

The network 18 is constructed by LAN, WAN, Internet, or the like. Although it is mainly constructed with wires, it may be constructed partially or entirely wirelessly. It may also include a mobile phone network such as PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), GSM (registered trademark) (Global System for Mobile communications), CDMA or LTE.

As described above, the content creation server 12 is a server that creates content using images, and the content providing server 13 is a server that provides content to the end user 6 . The Web server 14 is a server operated by a content user company, and the Web page of the content user company is registered. In this Web page, information disclosed by the company using the content is described in HTML, JavaScript (registered trademark), or the like.

The imaging device 11 is an omnidirectional imaging device capable of imaging 360 degrees around by mounting two imaging elements. It does not necessarily have to be an imaging device dedicated to omnidirectional imaging, and by attaching an omnidirectional imaging unit to an ordinary digital camera, smartphone, or the like, it may have substantially the same functions as the imaging device 11. good.

The imaging device 11 can communicate with the portable terminal 17 wirelessly or by wire. This is because the portable terminal 17 assists the functions that the imaging device 11 does not have. That is, when the imaging device 11 does not have a position information detection function (for example, a GPS reception function), the portable terminal 17 detects the imaging position. In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 17 adds the imaging position to the image captured by the imaging device 11 and transmits the image to the content creation server 12 . If the imaging device 11 has a position information detection function, the mobile terminal 17 may be omitted. Therefore, the imaging device 11 and the mobile terminal 17 may be provided by one device.

Note that the portable terminal 17 has a display for displaying images, and is also used when the photographer 8 confirms the images, but confirmation of the images is not essential.

The mobile terminal 17 is, for example, a smart phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, a wearable PC, or a general-purpose PC, but is not limited to these.

The content user company PC 15 is a PC operated by the person in charge 7 of the content user company when linking the content to the Web page published by the content user company. The content user company PC 15 may be a smart phone, a PDA, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, a wearable PC, or the like, in addition to the PC.

The user PC 16 is a PC operated by the end user 6, and displays a web page provided by the content user company. A specific device may be the same as the content user company PC 15 . The user PC 16 is an example of an information processing terminal.

Although FIG. 4 shows the content creation server 12, the content provision server 13, and the web server 14 as separate devices for convenience of explanation, one device may provide the functions of these three servers. Also, one device may provide the functions of any two of these three server functions.

Also, the functions of one or more of the content creation server 12, the content provision server 13, and the web server 14 may be provided as a cloud service using cloud computing. In cloud computing, for example, a plurality of servers are connected by L1 to L3 switches, and each server and one or more storages are connected by Fiber Channel, iSCSI, or the like. In cloud computing, a virtualized server is added or released to each server according to the load, and the physical configuration is dynamically changed.

Thus, the illustrated configuration of the web service system 100 is an example, and the web service system 100 has a function as an information processing device capable of performing the processing described in the present embodiment below. All you have to do is

<<About the imaging device 11>>
The appearance of the imaging device 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 5A is an example of a left side view of the imaging device 11, FIG. 5B is an example of a front view of the imaging device 11, and FIG. 5C is an example of a plan view of the imaging device 11. FIG. be.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), the imaging device 11 has a vertically elongated housing that can be held by a person with one hand, and has two imaging elements 103a and 103b placed back-to-back on the top. there is The imaging elements 103a and 103b each have an imaging range of 180 degrees, and the two imaging elements 103a and 103b capture an omnidirectional range. An operation unit 115 such as a shutter button is provided on the front side of the imaging device 11 .

FIG. 6 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the imaging device 11. As shown in FIG. The imaging device 11 is an omnidirectional imaging device equipped with two imaging elements. However, the number of imaging elements may be three or more. The imaging device 11 includes an imaging unit 101, an image processing unit 104, an imaging control unit 105, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) 113, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). ) 114 , an operation unit 115 , a network I/F 116 , a communication unit 117 , an antenna 117 a and an electronic compass 118 .

The imaging unit 101 includes wide-angle lenses (so-called fisheye lenses) 102a and 102b each having an angle of view of 180° or more for forming a hemispherical image, and two imaging elements 103a provided corresponding to each wide-angle lens. , 103b. The imaging devices 103a and 103b have an image sensor, a timing generation circuit, a group of registers, and the like. The image sensor is a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, or the like, which converts an optical image formed by a fisheye lens into image data of an electrical signal and outputs the image data. A timing generation circuit generates horizontal or vertical synchronizing signals, pixel clocks, and the like for this image sensor. Various commands and parameters necessary for the operation of the image sensor are set in the register group.

The imaging devices 103a and 103b are each connected to the image processing unit 104 via a parallel I/F bus. The imaging devices 103a and 103b are connected to the imaging control unit 105 via a serial I/F bus (such as an I2C bus). The image processing unit 104 and imaging control unit 105 are connected to the CPU 111 and the like via a bus 110 .

The image processing unit 104 fetches the image data output from the imaging elements 103a and 103b through the parallel I/F bus, performs predetermined processing on each image data, and synthesizes these image data. , to create image data of a Mercator image as shown in FIG. 10(c).

The imaging control unit 105 uses the I2C bus to set commands and the like in registers of the imaging elements 103a and 103b. Necessary commands and the like are received from the CPU 111 . The imaging control unit 105 also uses the I2C bus to take in status data and the like of the registers of the imaging elements 103 a and 103 b and send them to the CPU 111 .

Further, the imaging control unit 105 instructs the imaging devices 103a and 103b to output image data at the timing when the shutter button of the operation unit 115 is pressed. Depending on the imaging device 11, the display unit may have a preview display function or a function corresponding to moving image display. In this case, the image data is output continuously from the imaging devices 103a and 103b at a predetermined frame rate (frames/minute).

The imaging control unit 105 also functions as synchronization control means for synchronizing the output timing of the image data of the imaging elements 103a and 103b in cooperation with the CPU 111. FIG. In this embodiment, the imaging device 11 is not provided with a display unit, but may be provided with a display unit.

The CPU 111 controls the overall operation of the imaging device 11 and executes necessary processing. ROM 112 stores various programs for CPU 111 . The SRAM 113 and DRAM 114 are work memories, and store programs to be executed by the CPU 111, data during processing, and the like. The DRAM 114 stores image data being processed in the image processing unit 104 and image data of processed Mercator images.

The operation unit 115 is a general term for various operation buttons, a power switch, a shutter button, a touch panel having both display and operation functions, and the like. The photographer 8 inputs various imaging modes, imaging conditions, and the like by operating operation buttons.

A network I/F 116 is an interface for connecting to the network 18 such as an Ethernet (registered trademark) card. Also, the network I/F 116 may be used as an interface for an external recording medium such as a USB memory or an SD card. The Mercator image data stored in the DRAM 114 can also be stored in a recording medium from the network I/F 116 .

The communication unit 117 is a network interface for connecting to the network 18 via the antenna 117a. Examples include, but are not limited to, a wireless LAN communication device, a BlueTooth (registered trademark) communication chip, and NFC (Near Field Communication). In this embodiment, the Mercator image data stored in the DRAM 114 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 17 via the communication unit 117 .

The electronic compass 118 calculates the azimuth and tilt (Roll rotation angle) of the imaging device 11 from the magnetism of the earth, and outputs the azimuth and tilt information. This azimuth/tilt information is attached to the image according to a metadata format called Exif. The azimuth/tilt information is used for image processing such as image correction of an image. Note that Exif also includes the date and time of image capture, the thumbnail of image data, the data capacity of image data, and the like.

<<Regarding the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 17>>
FIG. 7 shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the mobile terminal 17. As shown in FIG. The mobile terminal 17 has a CPU 201 that controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal, a ROM 202 that stores basic input/output programs, and a RAM 203 that is used as a work area for the CPU 201 . It also has an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) 204 that reads or writes data under the control of the CPU 201, and a CMOS sensor 205 as an image sensor that captures an object and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 201. In addition, an acceleration/azimuth sensor 206 having a function as an electronic magnetic compass for detecting geomagnetism, a function as a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, etc., a medium for controlling reading or writing (storage) of data to a recording medium 207 such as a flash memory. A drive 208 is provided. Under the control of the media drive 208, a recording medium 207 is detachably attached to which previously recorded data is read or new data is written and stored.

The EEPROM 204 stores an operating system (OS) executed by the CPU 201, other programs, and various data. Also, a CCD sensor may be used instead of the CMOS sensor 205 .

The mobile terminal 17 includes an audio input unit 211 that converts audio into an audio signal, an audio output unit 212 that converts the audio signal into audio, an antenna 213a, and a wireless communication signal using the antenna 213a. and a communication unit 213 that communicates with. It also has a GPS receiver 214 that receives a GPS signal containing position information (latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the imaging device 11 from a GPS (Global Positioning Systems) satellite or IMES (Indoor Messaging System) as an indoor GPS. . Also, a display 215 such as a liquid crystal or organic EL that displays an image of a subject and various icons, etc., a touch panel 216 that is superimposed on the display 215 and detects a touch position on the display 215 by touching with a finger, a touch pen, or the like, and , and a bus line 210 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above sections.

The audio input unit 211 includes a microphone for inputting audio, and the audio output unit 212 includes a speaker for outputting audio. This makes it possible to acquire audio data at the time of imaging.

<<Regarding the hardware configuration of the content creation server 12, the content provision server 13, the Web server 14, the content user PC 15, and the user PC 16>>
FIG. 8 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the content creation server 12. As shown in FIG. It should be noted that the hardware configuration of the illustrated content creation server 12 does not need to be housed in one housing or provided as a set of devices. elements.

Content creation server 12 has CPU 301 , ROM 302 , RAM 303 , HDD 305 , display 308 , network I/F 309 , keyboard 311 , mouse 312 , media drive 307 and optical drive 314 connected to bus 310 . CPU 301 executes program 320 stored in HD 304 to control the overall operation of content creation server 12 . A ROM 302 stores programs such as IPL that are used to drive the CPU 301 . A RAM 303 is used as a work area for the CPU 301 . The HD 304 is a storage device equipped with a non-volatile memory, and stores a program 320 for creating content, an OS, and the like.

An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 305 controls reading and writing of various data to and from the HD 304 under the control of the CPU 301 . A display 308 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. A network I/F 309 is an interface with a network 18 such as a LAN or the Internet.

A keyboard 311 and a mouse 312 are input/output devices, and the keyboard 311 has a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc., and receives inputs from these keys. A mouse 312 accepts movement of the mouse pointer, selection and execution of various instructions, selection of processing targets, and the like.

A media drive 307 controls reading or writing (storage) of data to a medium 306 such as a flash memory. An optical drive 314 controls reading or writing of various data to a CD (Compact Disc) 313 or the like as an example of a removable recording medium.

The program 320 may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as the medium 306 or the CD 313 in an installable format or executable format and distributed. Alternatively, program 320 may be distributed in the form of being downloaded from any server-type information processing apparatus.

Note that the hardware configuration of the content providing server 13 may be the same as that of the content creating server 12, so illustration thereof is omitted. However, in this case, the HD 304 stores a program 320 for providing content. Also, since the hardware configuration of the Web server 14 may be the same as that of the content creation server 12, illustration thereof is omitted. However, in this case, the HD 304 stores a program 320 for providing web pages and web applications and web pages (web applications). Also, since the hardware configuration of the content user company PC 15 may be the same as that of the content creation server 12, illustration thereof is omitted. However, in this case, the HD 304 stores a program 320 for editing HTML data. Also, since the hardware configuration of the user PC 16 may be the same as that of the content creation server 12, illustration thereof is omitted. However, in this case, the HD 304 stores, for example, browser software as a program 320 that enables browsing of Web pages and contents.

<Example of imaging by the imaging device 11>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the range and images captured by the imaging device 11 will be described. FIG. 9 is an example of a diagram schematically showing the imaging range of the imaging device 11. As shown in FIG. Since the image capturing device 11 captures an image of an omnidirectional range, there is a risk of capturing an image of the user himself/herself. Therefore, when the person 8 does not want to take an image, the person 8 holds the imaging device 11 in his/her hand and extends his/her arm to take an image. Since the imaging device 11 has a screw hole for attaching a tripod, by inserting a rod into the screw hole and holding the rod by the photographer 8, the imaging device 11 lifted to a higher position can take an image. You may let

By taking an image in this way, the imaging element 103a and the imaging element 103b respectively capture an image of the subject around the photographer 8, and two hemispherical images are obtained.

10A is a hemispherical image (front side) captured by the imaging device 11, FIG. 10B is a hemispherical image (back side) captured by the imaging device 11, and FIG. 10C is represented by Mercator projection. 1 is a diagram showing an image (referred to as a "Mercator image").

As shown in FIG. 10A, the image obtained by the imaging device 103a is a hemispherical image (front side) curved by the fisheye lens 102a. Also, as shown in FIG. 10B, the image obtained by the imaging device 103b is a hemispherical image (rear side) curved by the fisheye lens 102b. Then, the hemispherical image (front side) and the 180-degree inverted hemispherical image (rear side) are combined by the imaging device 11 to create the Mercator image of FIG. 10(c). An omnidirectional image is created from this Mercator image.

FIG. 10D is an example of a diagram schematically showing an omnidirectional image. For example, an omnidirectional image is created by pasting the Mercator image shown in FIG. 10(c) on the 3D sphere. A omnidirectional image is an image obtained by capturing an object in all directions of 360 degrees vertically and horizontally from a certain point. Spherical images can be created as still images or movies. Since the imaging apparatus 11 of the present embodiment can create an omnidirectional image in one shot, a process in which a person takes a plurality of images at the same point by changing the imaging range and synthesizes the images, as in the conventional art. is unnecessary. Spherical images are simply referred to as images unless otherwise specified.

<Functions of Web Service System 100>
FIG. 11 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the web service system 100. As shown in FIG. The functions of the devices (imaging device 11, portable terminal 17, content creation server 12, content providing server 13, web server 14, content user PC 15, user PC 16) of the web service system 100 will be described in order below.

The imaging device 11 has an image creating section 31 , an imaging information collecting section 32 , and a transmitting/receiving section 33 . Each unit (the image creation unit 31, the imaging information collection unit 32, and the transmission/reception unit 33) of the imaging apparatus 11 has any of the components shown in FIG. It is a function realized by operating according to an instruction from the CPU 111 according to a program, or a means to be functioned.

The image creation unit 31 is realized by commands from the CPU 111, the imaging unit 101, the image processing unit 104, and the imaging control unit 105 shown in FIG. . The image creation unit 31 creates images periodically or at fixed distance intervals according to the settings of the photographer 8 . Also, an image is created at the timing when the photographer 8 presses the shutter button of the operation unit 115 .

The imaging information collection unit 32 is realized by commands from the CPU 111 and the electronic compass 118 shown in FIG. 6, and collects imaging information at the time of imaging. The imaging information includes the following items.

"Image date/time, image data thumbnail, azimuth, roll angle, data size"
This imaging information is attached to the image in a file format called Exif, for example. The azimuth is information indicating north, south, east, and west of the image. Note that the roll angle may be corrected to be zero at the time of imaging, and in this case the roll angle may not be included in the imaging information.

The transmission/reception unit 33 is implemented by commands from the CPU 111 and the communication unit 117 shown in FIG. It is preferable that the transmitting/receiving unit 33 transmits an image to the mobile terminal 17 each time an image is captured. As a result, the mobile terminal 17 can detect the imaging position at a timing without a large time difference from when the image is captured. Note that if the imaging device 11 has a function of detecting an imaging position, it is not necessary to transmit an image for each imaging.

<<mobile terminal 17>>
Next, functions of the mobile terminal 17 will be described. The mobile terminal 17 has a data-attached image transmission unit 34 , a position information acquisition unit 35 , an image reception unit 36 , an operation input reception unit 37 , and a storage/readout unit 39 . Each unit of the mobile terminal 17 (the data-attached image transmission unit 34, the position information acquisition unit 35, the image reception unit 36, the operation input reception unit 37, and the storage/readout unit 39) is configured as shown in FIG. Any one of the elements is a function realized by operating according to an instruction from the CPU 201 according to a program developed on the RAM 203 from the EEPROM 204, or a means to function.

The mobile terminal 17 also has a storage unit 2000 constructed by the RAM 203 and EEPROM 204 shown in FIG. An image DB 2001 is constructed in the storage unit 2000 . The image DB 2001 stores a series of images captured by the imaging device 11 along the route. A series of images refers to all images taken along the route. It does not necessarily include all. For example, an arbitrary function or means of the imaging device 11 or the mobile terminal 17 evaluates the image quality and selects only images of a standard or better.

The operation input reception unit 37 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 and the touch panel 216 and the like shown in FIG. For example, the start of imaging, the end of imaging, the imaging interval (cycle, fixed distance), and the like are accepted. Such operation content is transmitted from the portable terminal 17 to the imaging device 11 .

The image receiving unit 36 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 and the communication unit 213 shown in FIG. 7, and receives images from the imaging device 11 . Images transmitted from the start of imaging to the end of imaging are stored in the image DB 2001 .

The position information acquisition unit 35 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 and the GPS reception unit 214 and the like shown in FIG. 7, and acquires the current position of the mobile terminal 17 each time the image reception unit 36 receives an image. This current position is the imaging position. The position information acquisition unit 35 adds the imaging position to the metadata of the image. Therefore, an image is attached with "image date and time, image data thumbnail, azimuth, roll angle, data size, and imaging position". However, in the following explanation, for convenience of explanation, the thumbnail, roll angle, and data size of the image data are omitted, and the following imaging information is attached to the image.

Imaging information: "Date and time of imaging, direction, imaging position"
The data-attached image transmission unit 34 is implemented by commands from the CPU 201 and the communication unit 213 shown in FIG. The transmission timing is, for example, when the operation input receiving unit 37 receives the end of imaging, but it may be transmitted each time imaging is performed, or may be transmitted after the imaging is completed. Alternatively, the photographer 8 may store the data in the recording medium 207 and cause the content creation server 12 to read the data.

The storage/readout unit 39 is implemented by commands or the like from the CPU 201 shown in FIG. It should be noted that the storage and reading of data in and from the storage unit 2000 by the storage/readout unit 39 are assumed to be executed by the storage/readout unit 39 in response to requests from each unit, and may not be specified.

<<content creation server 12>>
Next, functions of the content creation server 12 will be described. The content creation server 12 includes an image correction unit 20, a route creation unit 21, a map acquisition unit 22, an image reception unit 23 with data, a URI transmission unit 24, a content transmission unit 25, an image embedding unit 26, and a storage/readout unit 29. have. Each unit of the content creation server 12 (image correction unit 20, route creation unit 21, map acquisition unit 22, data-attached image reception unit 23, URI transmission unit 24, content transmission unit 25, image embedding unit 26, and storage/readout Unit 29) is a function realized or functioned by any one of the constituent elements shown in FIG. It is a means to

The content creation server 12 also has a storage unit 3000 constructed by the RAM 303 and HDD 305 shown in FIG. A map data DB 3001 and an account management DB 3002 are constructed in the storage unit 3000 .

The map data DB 3001 stores data for drawing the map 62 and data representing the structure of pedestrian-passable roads. Since the data for drawing the map 62 includes many display objects such as divisions such as prefectures, green spaces and rivers, roads and railroads, symbols and notes, it is possible to classify the data into those with similar properties and draw them for each classification. It's like Each classified display target or a state in which the display target is drawn is called a layer, and a map is drawn by overlapping several layers. The map data of each layer is described in a format suitable for display objects, either vector data or raster data. Further, the map data is partitioned into meshes with known longitude, latitude, etc., and the map 62 is created by combining one or more meshes. In the case of vector data, the positions of points, polylines, and polygons are determined by latitude and longitude. In the case of raster data, data corresponding to the scale are prepared in association with latitude and longitude.

Data representing the structure of roads has a node table and a link table. Nodes on the road network representation are registered in the node table in association with latitude and longitude. A node is called a node. Nodes are, for example, intersections, branch points, confluence points, bend points, and the like. In the link table, roads through which pedestrians can pass (sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian bridges, underpasses, passages through which pedestrians can pass, etc.) are registered in association with the node numbers of the nodes. Data of roads on which cars travel as well as pedestrians may be registered. Further, the link type, width, link length, etc. are registered in the link table. A road between two nodes is called a link, and a link is a line segment connecting the nodes.

アカウント管理ＤＢ３００２には表１に示すようにコンテンツ利用企業のアカウントテーブルが登録されている。アカウントテーブルには、例えば、コンテンツ利用企業ＩＤ、パスワード、及び、メールアドレスなどが登録される。コンテンツ利用企業ＩＤはコンテンツ利用企業を識別するための一意の識別情報である。パスワードはコンテンツ利用企業をコンテンツ作成サーバ１２が認証するためのものである。メールアドレスはコンテンツ利用企業の担当者７のメールアドレスであり、コンテンツのＵＲＩを送信する際の宛先となる。なお、メールアドレスでなく、又は、メールアドレスに加えＦＡＸ番号や電話番号が登録されてもよい。

In the account management DB 3002, as shown in Table 1, an account table of content user companies is registered. In the account table, for example, content user company IDs, passwords, and e-mail addresses are registered. The content user company ID is unique identification information for identifying the content user company. The password is for the content creation server 12 to authenticate the content user company. The e-mail address is the e-mail address of the person in charge 7 of the company using the content, and is the destination when the URI of the content is sent. In addition to the e-mail address, or in addition to the e-mail address, a FAX number or a telephone number may be registered.

The data-attached image receiving unit 23 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 shown in FIG.

The image correcting unit 20 is realized by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. 8, and performs processing for compressing an image attached with imaging information, and horizontal correction based on the roll angle. Note that the processing of the image correction unit 20 may be performed by the mobile terminal 17 .

The map acquisition unit 22 is realized by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. 8, and acquires the map 62 from the map data DB 3001. The range acquired as the map 62 is determined so as to include all imaging positions included in the imaging information.

The route creating unit 21 is realized by commands from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. The route creation unit 21 maps the imaging positions included in the imaging information on roads on which pedestrians can walk. To perform map matching for arranging on the nearest road even if the imaging position is slightly away from the road. A route 63 is obtained by connecting the arranged imaging positions in order from the oldest imaging date and time. Alternatively, the arranged imaging positions may be connected in order from the closest imaging position. Even when the photographer 8 walks back and forth on the route, the content along the route can be obtained.

The image embedding unit 26 embeds an image in the imaging position arranged when the route 63 was created. Embedding refers to associating the imaging position on the map with the image. By association, when the end user 6 designates an imaging position on the map, an image captured at the imaging position is displayed. The image embedding unit 26 is an example of image association means.

The content is data in which a route 63 is created on the map and an image is embedded at the imaging position. As shown in FIG. 3, the content has the same number of still images that can be displayed, for example, image 61 and map 62 . When the end user 6 selects an imaging position on the map 62 , the content providing server 13 is notified of the information on the spot, and the content providing server 13 transmits an image of the selected location to the user PC 16 . Also, a plurality of still images may be converted into a moving image file such as MPEG.

The content transmission unit 25 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 shown in FIG. It is assumed that the URI in which content is registered is determined according to certain rules, for example.
"Domain name + directory name + content user company ID + content name"
Since the domain name is the domain of the content providing server, it is known, and the directory name is, for example, a known folder name (for example, "4000" in storage unit 4000). The content name may be given by the photographer 8 before sending the image, or may be given by the content creation server 12 . Therefore, the URI is, for example, "content providing server/4000/content user company ID/content name".

The URI transmission unit 24 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 shown in FIG.

The storage/readout unit 29 is implemented by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

<<content providing server 13>>
Next, functions of the content providing server 13 will be described. The content providing server 13 has a viewing information acquisition unit 55 , a content receiving unit 56 , a content providing unit 57 and a storage/reading unit 54 . Each unit (browsing information acquiring unit 55, content receiving unit 56, content providing unit 57, and storage/reading unit 54) of content providing server 13 has one of the components shown in FIG. It is a function realized by operating according to an instruction from the CPU 301 according to the program 320 developed on the RAM 303 from the above, or a means to be functioned.

The content providing server 13 also has a storage unit 4000 constructed by the RAM 303 and HDD 305 shown in FIG. A content management DB 4001 is constructed in the storage unit 4000 .

コンテンツ管理ＤＢ４００１には表２に示すようにコンテンツ管理テーブルが登録されている。コンテンツ管理テーブルには、例えば、コンテンツ利用企業ＩＤ、コンテンツ名、ＵＲＩ、提供回数、閲覧時間及び時間帯などが登録されている。なお、便宜上、コンテンツ管理ＤＢ４００１にはコンテンツが記憶されるものとするが、コンテンツはネットワーク１８からアクセス可能な場所に保持されていればよい。ＵＲＩが指定されれば、コンテンツ提供サーバ１３はコンテンツを特定できる。提供回数は、各コンテンツが何回、エンドユーザ６に提供されたかを示す。閲覧時間はコンテンツ提供サーバへの滞在時間を意味し、５～１０分間隔で区切られた各時間間隔ごとに人数が登録されている。なお、コンテンツ提供サーバへの滞在時間は例えばＴＣＰのセッションが維持されている時間により測定できる。時間帯はどのような時間帯にコンテンツが閲覧されているかを意味し、例えば０～１時、１～２時などのように１時間ずつ区切られた各時間間隔ごとに人数が登録されている。

A content management table as shown in Table 2 is registered in the content management DB 4001 . In the content management table, for example, content user company IDs, content names, URIs, number of times of provision, viewing times, time zones, etc. are registered. For the sake of convenience, it is assumed that content is stored in the content management DB 4001 , but the content may be held in a location accessible from the network 18 . If the URI is specified, the content providing server 13 can identify the content. The number of times of provision indicates how many times each content has been provided to the end user 6 . The viewing time means the staying time in the content providing server, and the number of people is registered for each time interval separated by 5 to 10 minute intervals. The length of stay in the content providing server can be measured, for example, by the length of time a TCP session is maintained. The time zone means the time zone in which the content is viewed, and the number of people is registered for each hourly interval, such as 0 to 1:00, 1 to 2:00, and so on. .

The content receiving unit 56 is realized by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 shown in FIG. The content receiving unit 56 registers content in the content management DB 4001 based on the URI obtained from the content creation server 12, and stores the content. Since the content URI is created with the content user ID and content name, the content user ID and content name can be registered in the content management DB 4001 . Alternatively, the content receiving unit 56 may acquire the content user ID and content name from the content creation server 12 to create a URI, and register the content URI and the like in the content management DB 4001 .

The content providing unit 57 is implemented by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. 8, and provides the user PC 16 with content specified by a URI.

The browsing information acquisition unit 55 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. In addition, the browsing information acquisition unit 55 registers in the account management DB 3002 information such as "how long the end user 6 watched the content" and "what time zone the content was watched".

The storage/readout unit 54 is implemented by commands or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

<<PC 15 of content user company>>
Next, functions of the content user company PC 15 will be described. The content user company PC 15 has a URI reception unit 41 , an operation input reception unit 42 , a web page transmission unit 43 , and a storage/readout unit 44 . Each unit (URI reception unit 41, operation input reception unit 42, web page transmission unit 43, and storage/readout unit 44) of the content user company PC 15 has any of the components shown in FIG. It is a function realized by operating according to an instruction from the CPU 301 according to the program 320 developed on the RAM 303 from the HDD 305 or a means that functions.

The content user company PC 15 also has a storage unit 5000 constructed by the RAM 303 and HDD 305 shown in FIG. A web page DB 5001 is constructed in the storage unit 5000 .

The web page DB 5001 stores web pages of the content user company PC 15 . This web page is registered in the web server 14 and is the same as the web page provided by the web server 14 .

URI reception unit 41 is implemented by commands from CPU 301 and network I/F 309 and the like shown in FIG.

The operation input receiving unit 42 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301, the keyboard 311, the mouse 312, and the like shown in FIG. This operation is mainly an operation of pasting the URI to a desired location on the company's web page (including HTML data and web applications written in JavaScript).

The web page transmission unit 43 is realized by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 shown in FIG. A web page is sent to the web server 14 using a protocol.

The storage/readout unit 44 is implemented by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

Note that the content user company PC 15 may have the map acquisition unit 22, the route creation unit 21, and the image embedding unit 26 that the content creation server 12 has. This allows the person in charge 7 of the content-using company to create the content.

<<Web server 14>>
Next, functions of the web server 14 will be described. The web server 14 has a web page receiving unit 51 , a web page providing unit 52 and a storage/reading unit 53 . Each unit (web page receiving unit 51, web page providing unit 52, and storage/reading unit 53) of the web server 14 has any of the components shown in FIG. It is a function realized by operating according to an instruction from the CPU 301 according to the program 320 written, or a means to be functioned.

The web server 14 also has a storage unit 6000 constructed by the RAM 303 and HDD 305 shown in FIG. A web page DB 6001 is constructed in the storage unit 6000 .

The web page DB 6001 stores web pages to be provided by the web server 14 in response to requests from the user PC 16 .

The web page receiving unit 51 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 shown in FIG. 8, and receives web pages from the content user company PC 15 . The received web page is stored in the web page DB 6001 .

Web page providing unit 52 is implemented by commands from CPU 301 and network I/F 309 and the like shown in FIG.

The storage/readout unit 53 is implemented by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

<<User PC 16>>
Next, functions of the user PC 16 will be described. The user PC 16 has a web page request section 45 , a web page display section 46 and an operation input reception section 47 . Each unit (Web page request unit 45, Web page display unit 46, and operation input reception unit 47) of user PC 16 has any of the components shown in FIG. It is a function realized by operating according to an instruction from the CPU 301 according to the program 320, or a means to be functioned.

The web page requesting unit 45 is realized by commands from the CPU 301 and the network I/F 309 and the like shown in FIG. Also, when the end user 6 designates the URI of the content, the content providing server 13 is requested for the content.

The web page display unit 46 is realized by commands from the CPU 301 and the display 308 and the like shown in FIG. 8, and displays web pages. The web page requesting unit 45 and the web page displaying unit 46 are implemented by so-called browser software, but are not limited to this.

The operation input receiving unit 47 is realized by commands from the CPU 301, the keyboard 311, the mouse 312, etc. shown in FIG. The end user 6 designates an arbitrary web page or designates content contained in the web page. When the content is displayed, the user designates the image pickup position on the map or instructs the display direction of the image.

Note that the user PC 16 may have the map acquisition unit 22, the route creation unit 21, and the image embedding unit 26 that the content creation server 12 has. This allows the end user 6 to create content.

<Embedded URI>
FIG. 12 is an example of a diagram explaining embedding of a URI in a web page. FIG. 12(a) is an example of HTML data, and FIG. 12(b) is an example of a URI indicating a location where content is stored.

The URI shown in FIG. 12B has a domain name of “YouTune.com”, which is an example of the domain name of the content providing server 13 . "4000/001/001-A" is a directory name, content user company ID, and content name in that order.

The Iframe tag is one of HTML data tags for inline display of the resource (content in this embodiment) specified by src on the screen. "width" indicates the width when the image is displayed on the user PC 16, and "height" indicates the height when the image is displayed. "src" describes the domain and URI of the site. "frameborder" is the width of the border when the image is displayed. "allowfullscreen" means allow display in fullscreen mode.

Note that the Iframe tag is just an example, and any tag may be used as long as it conforms to the Web page description format (HTML description format in this case).
FIG. 12(c) shows an example of a web page in which a URI is embedded. The person in charge 7 of the content-using company can associate the company's Web page with the content simply by pasting the URI to a desired location, and thus can easily start using the content. In addition, it is easy to change contents and add contents. Note that the illustrated pasting position is an example, and any tag may be used as long as it conforms to the Web page description format.

<Transmission of content when providing content>
When the content providing unit 57 transmits content to the user PC 16, it is sufficient to transmit at least the map 62 and one or more images at the beginning, and it is not necessary to transmit all the images included in the content. Also, when the end user 6 designates the imaging positions one after another, or when the content is played back as a moving image, the end user 6 does not necessarily see images in all directions.

Therefore, the content providing unit 57 does not transmit the entire image to the user PC 16, but transmits only a partial image of the same range as the range displayed by the user PC 16 to the user PC 16. FIG. By doing so, the content providing server 13 needs to transmit only a part of the omnidirectional panoramic image having a relatively large data size, so that the transmission time can be shortened.

FIG. 13 is an example of a diagram schematically explaining transmission of a partial image by the content providing unit 57. As shown in FIG. FIG. 13 shows the positions of partial images when the omnidirectional image is a three-dimensional sphere. 13(a) shows a partial rectangular area of the sphere, FIG. 13(b) shows the projection of the rectangular area in the height direction, and FIG. 13(c) shows the projection of the rectangular area in the horizontal direction. there is The partial image Im is a portion of the omnidirectional image displayed by the user PC 16 .

In the omnidirectional image, any one point pixel is designated by coordinates such as latitude and longitude. In FIG. 13, latitude and longitude are indicated by x and y. Therefore, the user PC 16 can specify the partial image Im by the four coordinates (x1, y2) (x1, y1) (x2, y1) (x2, y2) of the partial image Im displayed by the user PC 16. .

The Web page requesting unit 45 transmits the coordinates of this partial image Im to the content providing server 13 . The coordinates of the partial image Im are an example of image range information, and specify the range (angle of view) when part of the omnidirectional image is displayed on the display 308 . The content providing unit 57 of the content providing server 13 transmits to the user PC 16 only the partial image indicated by the coordinates among the images to be transmitted next. The image to be transmitted next is the image at the next imaging position along the route 63 when the end user 6 has browsed a plurality of images in the past. If the end user 6 has viewed only one image in the past, it is the next image in the direction perpendicular to the partial image displayed in that image (the direction the end user 6 is looking).

Thereby, the content providing server 13 can transmit the image in a short time. It should be noted that if there is a margin in the communication band (if there is time before transmitting the image of the next imaging position), the content providing unit 57 preferentially transmits to the user PC 16 the partial image adjacent to the partial image. . Therefore, if there is enough communication band, all spherical images can be transmitted to the user PC 16 . Also, if the user PC 16 requests the image of the next imaging position before transmitting all the omnidirectional images to the user PC 16, only the partial image of the next imaging position indicated by the four coordinates is transmitted. do.

<Embedding spherical images>
FIG. 14 is an example of a diagram schematically explaining embedding of an omnidirectional image in the map 62. In FIG. Since the orientation is attached to the omnidirectional image, the image embedding unit 26 matches the azimuth of the omnidirectional image 65 with the orientation on the map 62, and the omnidirectional image is assigned to each imaging position 64 on the route of the map 62. A sphere image 65 is embedded. Since the azimuth is attached to the omnidirectional image 65, the omnidirectional image 65 can be embedded in the map 62 by such a simple process.

<Operation procedure>
An image transmission procedure will be described using each step in FIG. 15 and the like. FIG. 15 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for the imaging device 11 to transmit an image to the mobile terminal 17. As shown in FIG.
S1: When the photographer 8 operates the mobile terminal 17 , the operation input reception unit 37 receives the operation and transmits the operation content to the imaging device 11 . Here, it is assumed that an operation to start imaging has been performed. Alternatively, a time indicating a cycle or a distance indicating a fixed distance may be transmitted as the imaging interval.
S2: The image creating section 31 takes an image periodically or at regular distances and sends it to the imaging information collecting section 32 . When capturing an image at fixed distance intervals, the portable terminal 17 notifies the imaging device 11 that the photographer 8 has moved a fixed distance, as shown in S1-1. Moving a certain distance may be estimated from the position information, or may be estimated from the number of steps detected by the acceleration/direction sensor 206 . As a result, images of the route are obtained at substantially equal intervals, and when the content is displayed, the end user 6 can easily feel as if they were actually walking.
S3: The imaging information collection unit 32 collects the date and time of imaging and the orientation, attaches them to the image as metadata, and sends them to the transmission/reception unit 33 .
S4: The transmitting/receiving unit 33 transmits the image attached with the imaging date and direction to the image receiving unit 36 of the mobile terminal 17 .
S5: The image receiving unit 36 of the mobile terminal 17 receives the image attached with the image capturing date and time and the direction, and sends them to the position information acquiring unit 35 .
S6: When the image is received, the position information acquisition unit 35 acquires the imaging position and attaches it to the image. As a result, an image to which imaging information is attached is obtained. The position information acquisition unit 35 stores the image in the image DB 2001 .

The imaging device 11 and the portable terminal 17 repeat imaging and storage of images in the image DB 2001 until the imaging person 8 finishes imaging. Note that the photographer 8 may take images of one route multiple times. For example, by capturing images in the morning, noon, and evening, content is created in which images are captured in each time slot of the route. Also, the photographer 8 may capture images of the same route in different environments such as four seasons, fine weather, rainy weather, and cloudy weather.

FIG. 16 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for the portable terminal 17 to transmit an image to the content creation server 12. As shown in FIG.
S1: The photographer 8 performs an operation to finish imaging.
S2: When the user performs an operation to end the imaging, the portable terminal 17 displays a dialog for entering the content name, so the photographer 8 enters the content name. It should be noted that the content name may be input before the image pickup is finished. In addition, the photographer 8 can add the attribute of starting point of route to any image, and can add the attribute of ending point of route to any image. That is, you can specify the start and end points of the route. When these inputs are finished, the operation input reception unit 37 notifies the image-with-data transmission unit 34 of the end of imaging.
S3: The data-attached image transmission unit 34 reads out a series of images from the start to end of imaging from the image DB 2001 .
S4: The image-with-data transmission unit 34 transmits a series of images to the content creation server 12 . The image-with-data transmission unit 34 may transmit the content-using company ID and password input by the photographer 8 together with (or before or after) a series of images. The content creation server 12 creates content when the photographer 8 is authenticated based on the content user company ID and password. It should be noted that authentication of the content-using company is not required if billing and the like are not taken into consideration.
S5: The data-attached image receiving section 23 sends out a series of images to the map acquiring section 22 .
S6: The map acquisition unit 22 reads out the map 62 containing all the imaging positions of the series of images from the map data DB 3001 and attaches the series of images to the map 62 . The map acquisition unit 22 sends a series of images with the map 62 attached to the route creation unit 21 .
S7: The route creation unit 21 creates a route 63 by mapping all the imaging positions of the series of images on the map 62 and connecting them in order of imaging date and time. Route 63 is emphasized with a thick line or the like. The route creation unit 21 sends a series of images to which the map 62 and the route 63 are attached to the image embedding unit 26 .
S8: The image embedding unit 26 embeds a series of images at the imaging position on the route 63. Then, the image embedding section 26 sends the map 62 and the route 63 in which the image is embedded as one content to the content transmitting section 25 .

FIG. 17 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for registering content and web pages.
S1: The content transmission unit 25 specifies the URI and transmits the content to the content providing server 13 .
S2: The content receiving unit 56 of the content providing server 13 receives the content and stores it in the content management DB 4001 specified by the URI. Note that the content providing server 13 may store content in an arbitrary location and transmit the URI of the storage location to the content creating server 12 .
S3: The content transmission unit 25 sends the URI storing the content to the URI transmission unit 24 .
S4: The URI transmission unit 24 transmits the URI to the mail address of the person in charge 7 of the content user company.
S5: The URI receiving unit 41 of the content user company PC 15 receives the mail describing the URI and temporarily stores it in the RAM 303 or the like. Since the person in charge 7 of the content-using company opens the mail and displays the URI on the display 308, the operation input reception unit 42 receives the operation and copies the URI, for example.
S6: The person in charge 7 of the content-using company performs an operation to read out a desired web page from the web page DB 5001, and the operation input accepting unit 42 accepts the operation and reads out the web page.
S7: The person in charge 7 of the content-using company performs an operation of pasting the copied URI on the web page, and the operation input reception unit 42 sends the web page with the pasted URI to the web page transmission unit 43 .

In the procedure of FIG. 17, the URI is sent with the mail address as the destination, but the content creation server 12 may return the URI to the portable terminal 17 that sent the series of images. For example, if communication such as HTTP is used, the URI can be sent back to the portable terminal 17 that sent the image. In this case, the photographer 8 can confirm the URI without opening an e-mail application or the like.

FIG. 18 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for the user PC 16 to display content.
S1: The web page transmission unit 43 of the content user company PC 15 transmits the web page to which the URI is pasted to the web server 14 .
S2: The web page reception unit 51 of the web server 14 receives the web page and stores the web page in the web page DB 6001 .
S3: The end user 6 operates the user PC 16 to display the Web page of the content user company. As a result, the web page requesting unit 45 of the user PC 16 requests the web page from the web server 14 by designating the home page address and the like.
S4: Web page providing unit 52 reads the requested Web page from Web page DB 6001 . The URI of the content is pasted on this web page.
S5: Web page providing unit 52 transmits the Web page to Web page requesting unit 45 of user PC 16 .
S 6 : The web page requesting unit 45 of the user PC 16 receives the web page and sends it to the web page display unit 46 . Thereby, the user PC 16 can display the web page to which the URI of the content is pasted.
S7: The end user 6 clicks with the mouse cursor, for example, an area reserved as an area for displaying an omnidirectional image on a Web page, an image linked to content, or text. When such an operation for displaying content is performed, the web page requesting unit 45 designates a URI and requests the content from the content providing server 13 .
S8: The content providing unit 57 of the content providing server 13 reads out the designated content from the content management DB 4001 .
S9: The content providing unit 57 transmits the content to the user PC 16.
S10: The web page requesting unit 45 of the user PC 16 receives the content and sends it to the web page display unit 46. FIG. Thereby, the user PC 16 can display the content as shown in FIG. That is, a map 62 and an image 61 are displayed, and when an imaging position on the route 63 in the map is clicked with a mouse or the like or tapped with a finger, an omnidirectional image of that imaging position can be displayed.
S11: The content providing unit 57 notifies the viewing information obtaining unit 55 that the content has been provided. The browsing information acquisition unit 55 increases the number of times the content is provided by one. Also, the viewing information acquisition unit 55 determines the viewing time and the current time zone, and increments the number of people in the corresponding time interval in the account management DB 3002 by one. The content providing server 13 calculates the charge amount based on the number of times the content is provided and the size of the content, and charges the content user company at the end of the month or the like. Also, the browsing time and time zone of the account management DB 3002 may be provided to the content user company for a charge or free of charge. Content-using companies can use the browsing time and time period to improve their web pages.

Through such processing, the end user 6 who has displayed the content operates the menu 66 in FIG. 3 to display partial images in the vertical and horizontal directions, or to display omnidirectional images of different imaging positions one after another, such as moving images. You can let

As described above, in the web service system 100 of this embodiment, the photographer 8 can capture an omnidirectional image in one shot. Anyone can easily create and publish immersive content that expresses the space in all directions. Since the omnidirectional panorama image is embedded in the imaging position 64 of the map 62, the end user 6 can grasp at a glance the location of the omnidirectional image. In addition, since the route 63 is displayed on the map 62, the end user 6 can grasp at a glance the route that can be confirmed with the omnidirectional image. By having the end user 6 reproduce an omnidirectional panorama image, it is possible to provide a simulated experience of traveling around the route. Also, the operator of the content providing server 13 can charge the content user company for a fee according to the size of the content and the number of times the content is provided.

As shown in the first embodiment, the photographer 8 can take an image of the surroundings at an arbitrary location, but there is a possibility that the face of a passerby will be captured. It is not preferable from the standpoint of privacy protection if a passerby is imaged with personal identification information that can identify a person. Therefore, in this embodiment, a Web service system 100 that performs image processing on the face of a passerby to make it difficult to identify and distinguish a person will be described.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the content creation server 12 of this embodiment. Also, in this embodiment, since the constituent elements denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 11 perform the same functions, only the main constituent elements of this embodiment may be mainly described. In FIG. 19 , the content creation server 12 has an image processing section 27 . Note that the image processing may be performed by the mobile terminal 17 or the content providing server 13 .

The image processing unit 27 is implemented by a command or the like from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. 8, detects a face from an image, and blurs the face. Blurring the face means making it difficult to identify and discriminate an individual. As such blurring processing, smoothing with a smoothing filter may be performed, or an image for hiding the face may be superimposed on the face portion. Note that face detection is performed by setting a rectangular frame in an image and calculating an evaluation value of the rectangular frame using, for example, a Haar-Like feature amount or an FOG feature amount. By performing evaluation based on the feature amount while shifting the rectangular frame, it is possible to identify a rectangular frame that is highly likely to contain an image of a face.

FIG. 20 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a procedure for content creation server 12 to create content.
S4-2: The image processing unit 27 applies image processing to all of the series of images. Note that the timing of image processing does not have to be performed before acquisition of the map 62, and may be performed before content transmission.

FIG. 21 is an example of a diagram for explaining image processing for privacy protection. FIG. 21(a) shows a partial image before image processing, and FIG. 21(b) shows a partial image after image processing. In FIG. 21(b), it is difficult to recognize the faces of two passers-by 67. In FIG.

In FIG. 21, only the face of the passerby 67 is image-processed, but if a person is shown on a signboard or a large-sized liquid crystal display, image processing is also applied to these. This makes it possible to consider the portrait rights of advertisements. Further, the personal identification information is not limited to the face, and it is preferable to detect information that can identify an individual, such as a license plate of a car, and apply image processing.

As described above, the web service system 100 of this embodiment can protect privacy even if the photographer 8 captures an image of the passerby 67 in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.

When the end user 6 displays an omnidirectional image on the user PC 16, various subjects are shown, and it would be convenient if the end user 6 could display information on those subjects. Therefore, in this embodiment, a Web service system 100 for embedding information of a photographed subject in an omnidirectional image will be described.

FIG. 22 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the content creation server 12 of this embodiment. In FIG. 22 , the content creation server 12 has a subject information embedding section 28 . The subject information embedding unit 28 is implemented by commands from the CPU 301 shown in FIG. The acquired building information of the building and the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement information DB 3003 described below are embedded in the building. Information that allows a user to grasp what a subject is or that is provided to the user is referred to as subject information. At least one of building information and advertisement information is one specific example of subject information. The subject information embedding unit 28 is an example of subject information associating means.

Also, the content creation server 12 of this embodiment has an advertisement information DB 3003 in the storage unit 3000 . An advertisement information table as shown in Table 3 is registered in the advertisement information DB.

広告情報テーブルには、建築物ＩＤ、広告企業ＩＤ、広告情報、及び、提供回数が登録されている。建築物ＩＤはマップ上の建築物を一意に識別するための識別情報（被写体識別情報の一例）である。広告企業ＩＤは広告を出す広告企業を一意に識別するための識別情報である。広告情報は広告企業が表示する広告の内容（表３では広告内容が表示されるＵＲＬ）が記述されている。提供回数は、広告情報がエンドユーザ６により選択された回数である。

Building IDs, advertising company IDs, advertising information, and the number of times provided are registered in the advertising information table. The building ID is identification information (an example of subject identification information) for uniquely identifying a building on the map. The advertising company ID is identification information for uniquely identifying an advertising company that advertises. The advertisement information describes the content of the advertisement displayed by the advertising company (in Table 3, the URL for displaying the advertisement content). The number of times of provision is the number of times the advertisement information is selected by the end user 6 .

Next, embedding of subject information will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 23 is an example of a diagram illustrating a method of specifying the position of a building on a map. Part of the omnidirectional image is shown in FIG. 23(a). The object information embedding unit 28 performs edge processing, for example, and horizontally traces the pixel of the object with the highest imaging position. This results in the trace line 68 of FIG. 23(a). It can be determined that there is a building at a place where the pixel position of the object in the vertical direction is equal to or greater than the threshold value 82 . Also, the area from the point where the pixel position of the object becomes less than the threshold value 82 to the point where the pixel position of the object becomes less than the threshold value 82 is one building. In order to deal with places where buildings are continuous, vertical continuous edges may be detected by Hough transform, etc., and buildings may be separated where the edges are continuous from the sky to near the ground. . Alternatively, buildings may be separated by building color. Assume that buildings 71 to 73 are detected in FIG. 23(a).

In addition, as shown in FIG. 23B, the omnidirectional image is attached with north, south, east, and west directions. Also attached is the imaging position. Therefore, it is clear in which direction the buildings 71 to 73 are when viewed from the imaging position.

FIG. 23(c) is an example of a diagram showing an imaging range 83 on the map. Since the azimuths of the buildings 71 to 73 viewed from the imaging position are known, the buildings 71 to 73 can be specified on the map by applying the azimuths to the map. For example, with true north as a reference, the direction of the building 71 is about 260 degrees, the direction of the building 72 is about 310 degrees, and the direction of the building 73 is about 5 degrees (clockwise is positive).

After identifying the buildings 71 to 73 on the map, the subject information embedding unit 28 acquires the building information of each building from the map data DB 3001 and embeds it in the building of the omnidirectional image. The building information is, for example, the name of the building, the names of tenants in the building, and the like.

Specifically, when the end user 6 clicks with the mouse, taps with the finger, or moves the mouse over the buildings 71 to 73 in the images included in the content, the building information is displayed using JavaScript (registered trademark). A code such as is described in the content.

When the advertisement information of the buildings 71 to 73 is registered in the advertisement information DB, the advertisement information is similarly embedded. However, when advertisement information is embedded, a code such as JavaScript (registered trademark) for notifying the content providing server 13 of the fact that the advertising company ID and advertisement has been selected is described in the content.

FIG. 24 is an example of a flowchart showing a procedure for embedding subject information in an omnidirectional image by the subject information embedding unit. The procedure of FIG. 24 is started after the content creation server 12 receives the image and before it transmits the content.

First, the subject information embedding unit 28 detects a building from the omnidirectional image (S10).

Next, the subject information embedding unit 28 determines the orientation of each building viewed from the imaging position based on the orientation of the omnidirectional image (S20).

Next, the subject information embedding unit 28 determines the position of each building on the map based on the imaging position and the orientation of each building (S30).

Next, the subject information embedding section 28 acquires the building information of the building specified on the map from the map data DB 3001 (S40).

Next, the subject information embedding section 28 reads the advertisement information associated with the building ID from the advertisement information DB 3003 (S50).

Next, the subject information embedding section 28 embeds the building information and the advertisement information in the building of the omnidirectional image (S60).

FIG. 25 shows an example of subject information 81 displayed when the end user 6 clicks the building 72 with the mouse cursor 69. FIG. In FIG. 25, the building name, tenant names in the building, and an advertisement button 75 are displayed. The end user 6 selects the advertisement button 75, for example, when wanting to know more information about restaurants. Advertisement information (advertisement URL) of the advertisement information DB 3003 is embedded in the advertisement button 75, and the user PC 16 can display a Web page describing detailed information about the restaurant.

When the advertisement button 75 is selected, the user PC 16 executes a code such as JavaScript (registered trademark) and notifies the content providing server 13 of the advertising company ID and the fact that the advertisement has been displayed. . The viewing information acquisition unit 55 of the content providing server 13 counts the number of notifications and updates the number of times of provision of the advertisement information DB 3003 . As a result, the operator of the web service system 100 or the like can request the advertising company for an advertising fee according to the number of times the advertisement is provided.

As described above, the Web service system 100 of this embodiment embeds subject information in the subject of the omnidirectional image in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, so that the end user 6 can display the subject information. can.

<Application Example of Web Service System 100>
Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above using examples, the present invention is by no means limited to such examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. and substitutions can be added.

For example, in the present embodiment, the content providing server 13 specifies the company using the content, but it does not have to specify the user of the content. That is, general consumers can transmit images to the content creation server 12 and provide them on their home pages.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example of outdoor imaging and outdoor image disclosure has been described, but the imaging location may be indoors. In this case, position information using iBeacon (registered trademark) or the like may be used as the imaging position in addition to the above-mentioned IMES.

When the Web service system 100 publishes an indoor image, content can be created in the same manner as outdoors. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of content displayed on the user PC 16. As shown in FIG. The content in FIG. 26 has a display area 401 that displays an omnidirectional image and a display area 402 that displays an indoor map.

First, since the imaging position of the omnidirectional image is known, if the coordinates on the indoor map (for example, the coordinates of a two-dimensional coordinate system with the upper left corner of the indoor map as the origin) are associated with the position information, the omnidirectional image can be obtained. It is clear to which coordinates in the indoor map the spherical image is associated. In addition, the omnidirectional images are attached with the north, south, east, and west directions, and the north, south, east, west directions of the indoor map are usually known. Therefore, the content creation server 12 can specify the imaging position on the indoor map, and furthermore, can specify the front direction of the imaging device 11, so the imaging direction is also clarified.

Using such information, in a display area 402 for displaying an indoor map, a graphic 403 representing the imaging position on the indoor map where the omnidirectional image was captured, and a display area 401 of the omnidirectional image. A graphic 404 indicating the direction (angle of view) displayed by is displayed. Supplementally, since the partial image Im of the omnidirectional image displayed in the display area 401 is already known to the user PC 16, the user PC 16 can identify the displayed direction based on the imaging direction of the imaging device 11.

Therefore, according to the imaging position of the omnidirectional image displayed in the display area 401, the PC 16 can emphasize and display the figure 403 in the display area 402 (in this case, the figure 404 is emphasized, but the color is changed). etc.). Further, according to the partial image Im of the omnidirectional image displayed in the display area 401, the PC 16 can change the graphic 404 in the display area 402 in the direction corresponding to the partial image Im. Therefore, the user browsing the user PC 16 can easily know where on the indoor map the image displayed in the display area 401 was taken and in which direction the image is displayed in the display area 401. can grasp.

Also, in the display area 401 of FIG. 26, a graphic 405 indicating a preferred or possible direction of movement is displayed. The movement direction is an expression when it is assumed that the user moves inside the room, and does not mean that the user actually moves inside the room. The user PC 16 calculates a straight line 407 connecting the current imaging position of the omnidirectional image and the adjacent imaging position, for example, on an indoor map. 405 is displayed. Since the azimuth of the straight line 407 can be estimated, a figure 405 is superimposed on the latitude near the road surface of this azimuth in the omnidirectional image. By doing so, the direction of the adjacent imaging position is displayed in the omnidirectional image in the display area 401 as a figure 405 .

In addition, the content creation server 12 associates the figure 405 with an omnidirectional image in which the figure 406 on the indoor map is taken as an imaging position in advance (for example, a link is embedded).

When the user selects the figure 405, the user PC 16 detects the association and displays the omnidirectional image displayed in the display area 401 in another omnidirectional image beyond the figure 405 indicating the movement direction and having the figure 406 as the imaging position. Switch to the sphere image. For example, when figure 405 is selected in FIG. 26, an omnidirectional image captured at the position of figure 406 on the indoor map is displayed.

In addition, the content creation server 12 displays the graphic 405 representing the moving direction only in the direction of the display area 401 to guide the user, so that the user can browse the omnidirectional images in a preferred order.

As in the case of outdoors, when the user selects figures 403 and 406 representing arbitrary imaging positions on the indoor map, the display area 401 displays an omnidirectional image captured at the imaging position selected by the user. is displayed. In this case, the content creation server 12 associates the omnidirectional images with the figures 403 and 406 representing the imaging positions in advance.

Further, in the above embodiment, the person who takes the image is walking, but the imaging device 11 may be mounted on a vehicle to image the surroundings from the vehicle.

In addition, it is possible to take aerial shots not only on the ground, but also when falling with a parachute or flying with a paraglider. In addition, it is possible to take an image in a pool or in the sea. In this way, when capturing images other than on the ground, it is preferable that not only longitude and latitude but also altitude information be measured and attached to the image.

Also, in the above embodiment, the user PC 16 displays the content via the web page, but the content may be displayed directly without via the web page.

Further, in the above embodiment, still images were mainly explained as an example, but when a moving image is provided as content, the content creation server 12 extracts several scenes from the moving image and places them on the map 62 at the shooting positions. can be emphasized. Some of the scenes are, for example, omnidirectional images whose image quality evaluation value is equal to or higher than the standard, but may be selected by the person in charge of the content user company.

The data-attached image transmission unit 34 is an example of transmission means, the data-attached image reception unit 23 is an example of reception means, the map acquisition unit 22 is an example of map data acquisition means, and the route creation unit 21 is an example of a route It is an example of information creating means, and the content providing unit 57 is an example of content providing means. The URI transmission unit 24 is an example of link information transmission means, the web page reception unit 51 is an example of public information reception means, and the web page provision unit 52 is an example of public information provision means. The browsing information acquisition unit 55 is an example of counting means, the image processing unit 27 is an example of image processing means, the image embedding unit 26 is an example of image association means, and the subject information embedding unit 28 is an example of subject information association means. An example. The image creation unit 31 is an example of an imaging unit, the transmission/reception unit 33 is an example of a second transmission unit, the position information acquisition unit 35 is an example of a position detection unit, and the operation input reception unit 37 is an example of a setting reception unit. An example. The map data DB 3001 is an example of map data storage means, and the advertisement information DB 3003 is an example of advertisement information storage means. The web service system 100 is an example of a service system, and the method performed by the web service system 100 is an example of a service providing method.

6 end user 7 person in charge 8 photographer 9 access point 11 imaging device 12 content creation server 13 content providing server 14 web server 15 content user company PC
16 User PC
17 mobile terminal

Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-504285

Claims (18)

a storage unit that stores a panorama image and a diagram including the photographing position when the panorama image was photographed;
based on the request, reading a partial image that is a part of the applicable panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position of the applicable panoramic image from the storage unit;
The read diagram includes a figure indicating the position where the corresponding panoramic image was taken,
displaying a graphic corresponding to a display range of the partial image when the read partial image is displayed in the read diagram;
When the read-out diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images were photographed, it is possible to move from the photographing position of the displayed partial image to another photographing position. and displaying a figure indicating the direction in the partial image that has been read out . 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein straight lines connecting adjacent figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions among figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions are displayed in said read -out figure. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said straight line is displayed in front of a figure corresponding to a display range of said partial image. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the graphic indicating the direction in which the movement is possible is preceded by a photographing position of a destination of movement, and the graphic is associated with a panoramic image photographed at the destination of movement. Apparatus as described. When the displayed figure indicating the direction in which movement is possible is selected, the currently displayed partial image is switched to a partial image that is a part of the associated destination panorama image. Item 5. The device according to item 4. 6. The figure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the read-out diagram contains a plurality of figures indicating the photographing position, the figure indicating the movable direction can be displayed only in an arbitrary direction. or 1. The device according to claim 1. 7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a figure corresponding to the display range of said partial image to be displayed is displayed with emphasis. 8. The graphic corresponding to the display range of the partial image is a fan-shaped graphic surrounded by two lines indicating the radius of a circle and an arc between the lines. 10. The apparatus of paragraph 1. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a figure corresponding to the display range of said partial image is displayed in front of elements constituting said readout figure. a storage unit that stores a panorama image and a diagram including the photographing position when the panorama image was photographed;
when displaying the stored panoramic image, generating a display image based on the panoramic image and a graphic indicating the position where the panoramic image was taken;
The display image is composed of a partial image that is a part of the panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position of the panoramic image,
The display image is
In the case where the diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images are photographed, indicates a direction in which the photographing position of the displayed partial image can be moved to another photographing position. A figure is displayed in the partial image,
a figure corresponding to the display range of the partial image when the partial image is displayed is displayed in the diagram;
A device for outputting the generated display image . Based on a request, a partial image that is a part of the applicable panoramic image and the image of the applicable panoramic image are obtained from a storage unit that stores a panoramic image and a view including the photographing position where the panoramic image was photographed. Read out a diagram showing the shooting position,
The read diagram includes a figure indicating the position where the corresponding panoramic image was taken,
displaying a graphic corresponding to a display range of the partial image when the read partial image is displayed in the read diagram;
When the read-out diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images were photographed, it is possible to move from the photographing position of the displayed partial image to another photographing position. and displaying a figure indicating the direction in the partial image that has been read out . 12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein straight lines connecting adjacent figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions among figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions are displayed in said read -out figure. Based on a storage unit that stores a panorama image and a diagram including the photographing position when the panorama image was photographed,
when displaying the stored panoramic image, generating a display image based on the panoramic image and a graphic indicating the position where the panoramic image was taken;
The display image is composed of a partial image that is a part of the panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position of the panoramic image,
The display image is
In the case where the diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images are photographed, indicates a direction in which the photographing position of the displayed partial image can be moved to another photographing position. A figure is displayed in the partial image,
a figure corresponding to the display range of the partial image when the partial image is displayed is displayed in the diagram;
and outputting the generated display image . A program running on a device, comprising:
The device has a storage unit that stores a panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position when the panoramic image was photographed,
to said device,
based on the request, reading out from the storage unit a partial image that is a part of the applicable panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position of the applicable panoramic image;
The read diagram includes a figure indicating the position where the corresponding panoramic image was taken,
displaying a graphic corresponding to a display range of the partial image when the partial image is displayed on the read diagram;
When the read-out diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images were photographed, it is possible to move from the photographing position of the displayed partial image to another photographing position. A program characterized by displaying a figure indicating a direction in the read partial image . 15. The program according to claim 14 , wherein straight lines connecting adjacent figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions among figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions are displayed in said read diagram . to the device,
Based on a storage unit that stores a panorama image and a diagram including the photographing position when the panorama image was photographed,
when displaying the stored panoramic image, generating a display image based on the panoramic image and a graphic indicating the position where the panoramic image was shot;
The display image is composed of a partial image that is a part of the panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position of the panoramic image,
The display image is
In the case where the diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images are photographed, indicates a direction in which the photographing position of the displayed partial image can be moved to another photographing position. A figure is displayed in the partial image,
a figure corresponding to the display range of the partial image when the partial image is displayed is displayed in the diagram;
A program for outputting the generated display image . A system having a terminal and a server,
The server has a storage unit that stores a panorama image and a diagram including a photographing position where the panorama image was photographed,
based on a request from the terminal, reads out from the storage unit a partial image that is a part of the corresponding panoramic image and a diagram including the photographing position of the corresponding panoramic image;
The read diagram includes a figure indicating the position where the corresponding panoramic image was taken,
displaying a graphic corresponding to a display range of the partial image when the read partial image is displayed by the terminal in the read diagram;
When the read-out diagram includes a plurality of figures indicating photographing positions when a plurality of panoramic images were photographed, it is possible to move from the photographing position of the displayed partial image to another photographing position. A system characterized by displaying a figure indicating a direction in the read partial image . 18. The system according to claim 17 , wherein straight lines connecting adjacent figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions among figures indicating said plurality of photographing positions are displayed in said read diagram .

Images